Proud Mom, Doctors Discuss Birth Of Sextuplets At Abington Hospital

Brendan and Stacey Carey, parents of sextuplets born at Abington Memorial Hospital on June 1, 2011.

ABINGTON, Pa. (CBS) — The parents of the region’s newest set of sextuplets addressed the media Monday, along with the doctors and staff of the Montgomery County hospital where the babies were delivered.

“We are the proud parents of the sextuplets that were born here at Abington Memorial hospital,” said Stacey Carey, of Feasterville, adding, “We also have a 16-month-old daughter, so our family of nine is now complete.”

Stacey, her husband, Brendan, and a staff of approximately 60, welcomed Emma, Samantha, Olivia, John, Patrick and Connor, early Wednesday morning. The babies weighed 2 pounds.

Dr. Steven Smith, a perinatologist, and Dr. Gerald Cleary, a neonatologist, both said it was a privilege to participate in Stacey’s care.

Stacey, who underwent fertility treatment, had been hospitalized since 21 weeks. She went into labor late Tuesday at about 11:30 p.m. at 27-and-a-half weeks.

“From start to finish, assembling the delivery room team took less than an hour,” said Dr. Cleary.

The team had prepped and planned for that moment and even held mock-deliveries in advance to make sure the babies got the best care. Their great of planning paid off.

“Everyone in that room did a phenomenal job,” said Dr. Steven Smith, adding, “As I think back, it is one of the highlights of what I’ve done.”

The doctors say a term baby is born at 37 weeks and because the sextuplets were born so premature, they are in the extremely low birth rate category and are in the highest risk group for mortality and complications. They are all on ventilators and being fed through feeding tubes.

“They are in no way out of the woods,” said Dr. Cleary. “They are all responding to therapy and remain in critical condition.”

The doctors and the proud parents recognize there is a lot of hard work ahead for everyone.

“We have a lot of challenges to come, a long road ahead, because we have such a strong support system we know we can handle it,” said Stacey.